Rise
by Openminded15
Summary: Kamryn just wants some freedom. All over her life, it was "follow the General's rules, or be punished." One day she finds a young man named Ichigo, and will soon embark on a journey to over throw the General and his dictating ways. (AU as well as OCxcharacter)
1. Chapter 1

Rise  
>Chapter 1<p>

The air feels good on my skin. It feels different form the air inside Capital City. It certainly smells a lot better. Inside the city, it would smell dirty, like rotten garbage. It may look clean, but the smell is still there. Everyday I'd sneak out of the house after breakfast, and explore the fields and forests outside the city's gates, just to get away from it. I usually wouldn't return until it was time for cerfew. No one would miss me, no one usually does, considering there are many more kids without parents living there as well.

There's a small creek that runs along the south side of the city's gates. It's clear, unlike the murky well waters in the city. I could see the fish swimming around between the rocks. I kneel down to see them better, but as soon as I get close to them, they swim away and hide. I get up, wiping away any possible dirt that might have gotten on my jeans, and continue hopping across the creek, putting one foot on each rock. The field is surrounded by a dense forest, but it's infested with poison ivy, and poison oak. Going into it would be an itchy suicide. There's a rasberry bush on its outskirts. The branches are convexed, allowing me to crawl through it like a tunnel.

I spun my hand bag around so it hangs down from my neck, so it doesn't get snagged on any branches as I crawl through. The farther I crawl, the darker it gets. I can barely see a foot in front of me by the time I'm halfway through. The wooden walls around me start to lighten, as I approach the other side of the tunnel. The sun went down some since I left the city. It feels cooler now, and the sun isn't so harsh.

I crawl out of the bush tunnel, and stand up, bending backwards to stretch. There's a truck that sits in the middle of the field. The wheels are missing, and it's covered in moss and weeds. From the looks of it, it hasn't been in use for years. The only people allowed to drive any vehicle is the General and his men. I try to open the door, but the greenery has it sealed shut. I walk around to the back, and climb up on its tailgate. Flowers are growing on the bed, about to bloom. I sit down, letting my feet dangle off the edge. I lay back, listening to the sounds of the birds chirp in the distance. I look up at the clouds, trying to make up stories out of their shapes, until my eyes get heavy and slowly shut. I let the warm sunlight soak into me, until I drift off.

I wake up to the cold wind blowing towards me. The moon is high in the sky. I gasp, as I grab my hand bag I left discarded when I fell asleep, and hop off of the tailgate. I dropped to a crawl and went through the rasberry bush as fast as I could. When I crawl out, I see beams of light searching around in the distance. City guards. They're searching for people who are out past cerfew. I quickly go back into the bush tunnel. They walk close to me, as they shine their flashlights into the forest beside me. I lay down, hoping they don't catch me in the light.

They talk between themselves, standing right in front of me. I hear a loud, consistant thumping inside my chest. I know they can't hear it, but a part of me thinks that one of them might have supersonic hearing and will find me.

"Hey, look! A rasberry bush!" I hear one of them say. I watch as their toes point at me, so does their flashlight. The light flashes on me, and I lay there like a statue, paralyzed. I swallowed a gulp of fear that slid down like a rock. The bush started shaking, as the two men tugged on the branches.

"I haven't had a rasberry in forever!" The other mand says, holding a berry up to his mouth.

The man who had pointed out the bush, smacked the berry out of his hand. It lands in front of me. I flinch, and back up a little, to avoid being seen, praying they didn't see me move. "What the hell do you think you're doing? You don't know what's been on that berry before you got it! You gotta freeze it first, to kill all the bugs that could be inside it."

"Alright then, I'll just take some to go then." The other man grumbles. I can't see them anymore, just their feet. The bush started to shake again, some berries fell to the ground. The shaking feels like it's going on forever. My heartbeat starts to beat along with the shaking leaves. Making it sound like music. Music only I could hear.

The leaves silenced. The lights shift, away from me. Their feet start moving away. I watch them until I could no longer see the glow of their flashlight. I sigh in relief, as I crawl out of the bush. Keeping low to the grass, I creep along the forest's edge, trying to find out where the city guards have went. I get back to the creek, and use the reflection of the moon to guide me to where the stones are. I hop onto the first one, almost slipping. I shot out my hands, using them to balance myself as I shift all my weight to one side. I regain my balance, and jump over to the next rock. There are two more left. I spring for the other one. I extend my leg for the last rock. My foot, which was planted on the rock I'm standing on, slips. I let out a scream as I fall in the water. Water soaks into my clothes, and into my shoes.

I shiver as I stand up. I should look around to see if the guards heard me, but I just want to run for the gates, and get back to the house. The shadow casted by the moon is surrounded in a yellow light. I look back, and see the two guards standing a few feet behind me. I can't see much of them, because the light from the flashlight is obscurring my vision. I want to run, I should run, but my legs won't listen. I stand there, blind and terrified, like a deer facing a pair pf headlights.

"Hey, you!" One of them shouts. "What are you doing after cerfew?"

"You're under arrest!" The other screams.

They run towards me, and as soon as the flashlight's rays leave my eyes, I run. I pump my arms, trying my hardest to outrun them. Fear is clouding my mind, allowing adrenaline only to control my body. My lungs burn, sweat drips down my face. I want to stop, but I don't know how far away the guards are from me, and I don't dare look behind me. A fallen tree lies in my path. I jump over it, and immediately lay down. I press my back up against the bark, and I try to control my breathing. I see the guards jump right over me, and stop. I hold my breath. Their flashlights turn on. They must've switched them off while they were chasing me. My head begins to pound. They scan the area ahead of them. They turn around, and my heart drops.

They grab me before I have time to get up. They pull me to my feet, and shove my face into the tree bark. The bark scraps my cheeks. One of them holds my arms behind my back, and my head on the tree, while the other one snaps handcuffs on me. One of them pulls my head up by my pony tail, I groan in pain. They push me over the trunk, as they lead me back into Capital City.

I struggle against the guard's strong grip. As I struggle, I scream and swear, trying to kick them to get free. They told me stop struggling, that I'm only making it worse, but I don't care. I just want to be free, and get to the house.

"Thought you could run away from us, huh?" The man on my right asks.

"C'mon, can't you guys just look the other way this one time? I was heading back, I swear," I say.

"Sorry, hun. General's orders. No one out past seven-thirty. It's almost midnight li'l lady," says the man on my left.

I stop struggling, and actually start walking with them. I know exactly where I'm going. Not back to the foster house, that's for sure. We are almost to the creek. The sound of twigs snapping catches my attention. Both me and the guards turn our heads to the source of the sound. I see nothing but darkness. Another sound, this one I can't identify right away, until I see both of the guards fall to the ground. They scramble to their feet, and look around frantically. Two dark figures came rushing passed me, knocking them back to the ground. One of them kneeled down beside a guard and grabbed something from his waist.

They approached me. My heart beats like a racecar. I could see them more clearly now. They were both boys. One of them grabbed my wrists, and unlocked the handcuffs. He then gingerly took my hand, and pulled me with him. Both of the guys run in front of me, and I try my hardest to keep up, but I am still in shock to what just happened. We stop behind a bush, and duck behind it.

"You okay?" One of the guys asks. His voice was soft, and breathy. He sounds like he's around my age. Seventeen maybe.

"I'm fine," I answer. A flashlights beams on me. My heart almost jumps out of my heart, until I realize it was the other boy. He must have taken it from one of the guards. I could see them both now. The one who had taken off my handcuffs had orange, spiked up hair, and hazel eyes. His clothing choice is odd. He wears a gray t-shirt, and over top a brown jacket. His jeans are faded, with rips in the knees. The other boy, has blood-red hair, pulled back in a ponytail. He wore a gray t-shirt too, only no jacket, and he had cargo pants instead of jeans. His eyes were brown.

"I'm Ichigo, and he's Renji," The hazel-eyed boy says, helping me up. "It's pretty late, Renji. I don't think we should try and get her back inside Capital City. It'll be way too hard with all of the guards hangin' around," Ichigo says.

"What are you saying? Take her back to the hideout?"

"Well, yeah."

"No! Are you insane? You just met this girl, how do you know we can trust her?" Renji argues.

"We can't just leave her out here. The guard'll find her again!"

"Remember what happened last time you tried this shit?"

"I'll make sure she stays in my sight this time, okay?"

There's a long pause, as Renji tries to make up his mind. He lets out a groan, and shuts off the flashllight. "If anything happens, it's your fault." He grumbles.

I follow them out to the creek, but instead of crossing over it, we run down stream. There were a few guards patrolling, but we kept out of their sight. Wherever they're taking me, I hope it's better than Capital City.


	2. Chapter 2

We've been walking for hours, and I'm exhausted. The sun is starting to rise, painting the sky with pastel pinks, oranges, and purples. The creek begin to thin out, and dips into a large man-made concrete wall. It looked infused into the hillside. In the middle of the concrete wall was a rusted, metal door. Rocks lazily stacked on top of one another led down into the thinned out creek.

Ichigo was the first to jump down. He spins around, holding out his hand for me to take it. I refuse his hand, and jump down. My feet hit the ground hard, and I stumble forward. Now that I'm closer to the door, I see something spray painted on the rusty door. They were three lines, connected by a thin, curved line. The middle line is longer than the other two. I wonder what it means. Before I could get too far into thought, a large thump comes from behind me. It was Renji, jumping down without any help.

Regaining his balance from the jump, he walks over to the door. He leans against the concrete, and props his left leg against it, knocking on the door in some sort of pattern. The door has a little window on it, that's covered in grates. Someone's eyes appear in the grated window. The blue eyes scan the environment, glancing at Ichigo and Renji, but stopping at me. The eyes vanish, followed by clanks and bangs. The door creaks open.

A little boy stands bend the large door. His hair is white and spiked. His shirt is blue, which makes his eyes stand out even more, but it's riddled with stains. He scowls at the both, not showing an ounce of emotion.

"Hey Ichigo, Renji. Did you guys find-" He pauses, and looks at me. He looks nervous, but then his eyes quickly change when they land on Ichigo. He pulls Ichigo close to him. I now notice how much shorter the boy is than Ichigo. The boy whispers into Ichigo's ear, and Ichigo whispers back. Their tone is too low, and I can't hear them.

"Okay, come on in, I guess," he says.

Renji walks in, and Ichigo follows. I hesitate. It doesn't feel right going inside. Both Renji and that boy don't seem to like me. Walking into, whatever this place is, feels wrong. Ichigo has noticed I haven't moved. He motions me to follow him. I shake my head, and clutch the strap of my bag that hangs across my chest. He walks back over to me, and puts a gentle hand on my back.

"C'mon, we won't bite," he says. I bite my lower lip, and follow him inside. Behind the rusty door is a dark tunnel, lit only by dim green lanterns every ten feet or so. The walls are filthy, and the odor in the air is strong. It takes every part of me not to gag on the horrible smell. The tunnel splits into two paths. We take the one on the right. The tunnel opens up into a large room, lit now by stronger yellow lanterns. It no longer smells as bad as it had a few seconds ago.

There's a pit in the middle of the room, with burned sticks in a pile inside. Set above it is a metal rod. It must be where they cook food. An old, torn up couch sits against a wall. Stains paint the cushions and arms. A rip on the side of one of the cushions has foam poking out of it. Across from the couch is a small box television. It rests on top of a wooden crate. The antennae is all bent and taped.

Ichigo spreads his arms out wide, wearing a proud smile on his face. "Welcome to our hideout! Make yourself at home, we'll be eating soon," he says.I am reluctant to sit on the stain-riddled couch, but my legs are exhausted. I have been on them all day, and I need a rest. I lean back, letting my body fall onto it. It's softer than I had thought. I let my head rest on the back of it. The boy who let us in stands In front of me, with his arms folded across his chest.

"Where did Ichigo pick _you_ up?" The boy asks.

I sat up in my seat. "Out in the fields. I was being arrested by Capital City guards and they were kind enough to help," I answer.

The boy manages a chuckle. "Rukia is going to be so mad," he mutters. "Anyways, my name is Toshiro."

"I'm Kamryn."

He walks away, pushing open a door leading somewhere else. Who is Rukia? Why would she be mad at me for being here? Because Ichigo found me while I was being arrested? It's not like I was arrested for a major crime, like theft or murder. I was out past curfew for god's sake!

Ichigo comes over and sits down next to me. He flashes me a faint smile, and I return the kind gesture. He turns on the television. It looks like one of those old western that are in black and white. No sound comes from the television, it's mostly static.

"So." He sighs. "What did you do anyways?" He asked.

"I was out too late. Curfew is at seven-thirty."

"What? Really? I thought it was at ten." He sounded really astonished that the General would do something like that. He wasn't always that strict, but lately he's been tightening down on the country, having his men arrest people for anything he pleases.

There was a short silence. It felt a little awkward, just sitting there next to someone you don't know a lot about. I don't know what to talk about with him. Music? I don't know a lot of bands, and the only songs I know are from the track lists I find on broken records. Ichigo clears his throat, ready to break the silence.

"Do you think your parents will worry much?" He asks.

"No, they know I stay out late. They won't notice I'm gone." I don't want them knowing that I'm in a foster home. I know after I tell him, he'll ask about what happened to them. It would be too painful to tell the story. Thinking about it makes my stomach twist.

A knock on the door echoes through the room, and startles me. Someone else wants in. Renji hops up from the ground near the fire pit to go answer it. Was this the person they were talking about? What if it's the guards from earlier? I grow anxious as I wait for Renji to walk back in with the guest. I could be on my way to jail, along with Ichigo and Renji, or I could get into a fight with whoever this "Rukia" person is. Either situation isn't fun for me. The creaks and clanks of the door opening ring through the tunnel, followed by footsteps and. . . dragging? A thousand ideas race through my mind of what the dragging could be. Most of them involve the guards with Renji in custody.

His face pokes out from around the corner. I am so relieved. He picks at his fingernails as a woman walks out from behind him, dragging a tan sack behind her. She wore a black baseball cap that shielded her eyes. Her shirt is white, with a red flannel shirt draped over it. Her jeans were long, and tight at the top, but flare out at the bottom. She wears work boots, but they're covered in mud. She drops the sack and stares directly at me. She looks angry, like I wasn't supposed to be here. Her stare makes me feel uncomfortable, and I just want to look away and hide my face.

"What's _she_ doing in here?" She talks as if I am a stray dog.

"She's staying the night until we can get her safely back in the city walls," Renji says, sighing deeply. Her eyes shoot over to Ichigo. She goes over to him and forcefully grabs his arm, pulling him close to her. They whisper amongst themselves. I'm starting to get tired of people whispering around me. If it's about me, I have the right to know.

They both push away from each other. The girl gives me dirty look as she walks away. I feel like I'm going to melt. She touches her hand to her forehead, and let's it drag down the side of her face.

"Food'll be ready in a bit. Renji, come help me skin this deer," she says, grabbing the large bag and dragging it to a corner away from everyone. Renji rushes to help her. The cloth falls around the dead animal. A broken arrow sticks out of its shoulder, and its tounge hangs out of its muzzle. It looks so innocent and harmless. The thought of killing it and removing its skin makes me feel ill. Renji grabs a small knife from the coffee table. I look away before he starts to skin it.

"That's Rukia," Ichigo whispers.

I point over to the girl, tearing the skin off a dear she caught in the corner. "Really? _That's_ Rukia?" I expected Rukia to be more muscular, and mannish. Now, for some reason, she doesn't seem as intimidating as before.

I can hear Rukia sigh from my seat. She heard my reaction. "When is curfew over?" She asks.

"Ten in the morning," I sheepishly answer.

"Just a few hours away. We'll eat, and then Ichigo will take you home."

I'm really not hungry, once I figured out what we're having. I hold my stomach again as a coppery smell hangs in the air. I watch as everyone scatters about the room. Toshiro gathers up a bucket of water, a small knife, and a sack of potatoes. Ichigo kneels down in front of the fire pit, and begins to try and build a fire. Everyone seems to have something to do. Everyone except me.

I don't feel very welcomed here. Ichigo seems to be the only person who will even smile my way. Renji might have shown some hospitality, if it weren't for that girl. He's been giving me the cold shoulder more since she had come back.

Getting tired of doing nothing, I get up and walk over to the fire pit, where Ichigo is still furiously hitting two rocks together. Sparks fly off of them into the pit, but nothing seems to catch fire. I kneel beside him. The smell of previously burned grass fills my nose. It wasn't long ago when a fire was burning here. Ichigo's eyebrows push together, showing great frustration.

"Having any luck?" I ask.

"Not really," he mutters, slamming the rock together again. Some dry grass sits beside me. I take a handful and spread it around the pit.

"There wasn't much fresh tinder. Try it now," I say.

He smashes the rocks together one more time. Bright sparks fly Into the pit. The sparks quickly turn into ember. Ichigo gets closer to the ember, cupping his hands around the weak flame, feeding it oxygen to keep it alive. It was soon a decent size fire. He thanks me as he gets up and goes to help Renji and Rukia.

There isn't much to do while I wait for them to sneak me back into Capital City. Toshiro finished peeling potatoes, and is now playing cards with Ichigo. I watch them for a few minutes, but then get bored. I rest my head on the back of the couch again. The night has been hectic. I was arrested by Capital City Guards, managed to escape them, and ran away with two guys to their hideout in the sewer. There's nothing I'd like to do more right now than to go back to the foster house and get some sleep.

The food is finally done, and everyone sat around the fire pit. The deer smells good. I watch the group as they all laugh, and toss diced potatoes at each other. My stomach starts to growl. I hold my abdomen, hoping no one heard it. Renji looks over at me, with one eyebrow raised.

"You sure you're not hungry?" He asks. I shake my head.

"Eat," Ichigo orders. "You'll need your strength for the long walk in a couple hours."

He's right. If I want to get to the city, I'd have to eat. I really haven't eaten since yesterday morning. Renji rips off a hunk of meat from what's left of the deer, and puts it on a small paper plate for me.

The circle of laughs and jokes quickly died when I sat down. I look around as I take a bite of the meat. It looks like everyone wants to speak, but doesn't want to be the first to break the silence.

"So," I say. "How long have you all known each other?"

"Since General Aizen turned into a mad man," Ichigo answers. Rukia gives him a stern look, but he ignores her and takes in a spoonful of potatoes.

"We all kinda found each other, and decided we can't live under his rule anymore. So, we left."

"And you guys found this place?"

"You're askin' a hell of a lot of questions," Rukia chimes in. "What's your name?"

"Kamryn. But you can call me Kam if you want."

"You look more like Trouble to me." She takes a bite out her hunk of meat. "So, why are you so interested in us, Trouble?" A little bit of food spits out of her mouth.

"I was just trying to make conversation."

"Okay, then I have a question for you. What were _you_ doing outside of the city?" Rukia asks.

"I don't know. I like to see the flowers and trees. It's much more calming out there than in the city. I'm able to think and breathe."

"A likely story." She sounds very skeptical.

"So, you don't like it in the city?" Ichigo asks. Rukia shakes her head at Ichigo, but he ignores her as he continues to stare at me, waiting for my response.

"I mean, it's okay. There's not much to do there, and it smells like garbage most of the time. It's not exactly full of wealth either, Capital City is one of the poorest cities in the District." I stopped and took another bite of deer meat. Silence fills the room as everyone finishes eating.

Rukia gets up to stretch her legs. "Well, Trouble, I think you should get some rest. It's gonna be a long trip for you,"she says. She then orders Toshiro to get a spot ready for me to sleep. He goes behind a room, with a tattered cloth substituted for a door. He comes back out with an armful of blankets lazily folded together. He shoves them my way, and points beside the couch, telling me that's where I can sleep. He didn't look me in the eyes almost the entire time I've been here. When he did, it was when Rukia was looking, and it didn't look very pleasant.

I lay a blanket down in the far corner by the couch to sleep on, while the other is draped over my body. I toss and turn on the hard concrete, for what seems like hours, trying to get comfortable._ A couple more hours_, I tell myself. _A couple more hours and this will all be over._


End file.
